April 26, 2019
Oh my… She knows that she’s going to have a good time, but she’s also a little bit concerned about the logistics of traveling with so many friends…
Mostly, it’s about luggage! Everybody has been instructed that they can bring ONE 22 inch suitcase, and a carry-on bag that’s small enough that they can hold it on their lap for at least an hour. That’s pretty specific.
So she suggests the following thoughts to her friends:
She has also given some thought to what her friends should consider when they’re choosing what to pack. It might be over-managing, but she thought that it might be useful if everybody was on the same page, so to speak…
Her personal travel outfit? Her favorite warm-weather standards, navy and white!
cardigan – J.Crew; white tee – J.Crew; pants – Lands’ End; tote – Longchamp; oxfords – Trotters
If you’re going to pack small, everything’s got to work together. (well, it doesn’t HAVE to, but it certainly gives you more options….)
She had a serious crush on this cardigan from this first moment…
cardigan – Halogen; tee – Caslon; shorts – Caslon; sandals – Seychelles
Her 3rd “batch” of packing also follows guidelines that she took time to develop:
earrings – Soko; watch – Rosefield; cardigan – Halogen; sandals – Talbots; ivory tee – Harvest and Mill; green tee – Halogen; skirt – Caslon; scarf – Talbots
Lastly, they’re going to want swimwear and a coverup…
swimsuit – Lands’ End; coverup – Lands’ End
She’s walked through packing with a couple of her friends – one who will also be wearing navy, but who has taken a slightly different approach:
cardigan – Lands’ End; sleeveless top – Cinq à Sept; pants – L.L.Bean; shoes – Keds; backpack – Lands’ End
The green changes so many things…
cardigan – Bobeau; shirt – Lands’ End; skirt – Jen7 by 7 for All Mankind; sandals – Sam Edelman
It’s fun to see how navy can look so different…
earrings – Poppy Finch; watch – Olivia Burton; white sleeveless top – Caslon; sandals – Talbots; cardigan – Halogen; striped top – 1901; skirt – Caslon; scarf – Talbots
A fun swimsuit can brighten up your day:
swimsuit – Onia; coverup tunic – Lands’ End
Another of her friends is quite dressy, and loves grey and pink; her wardrobe isn’t going to look anything like the first 2!
tee shirt – Ted Baker London; cardigan – Halogen; jeans – Zadig & Voltaire; flats – Chloé; bag – Ted Baker London
Such a different look, isn’t it?
cardigan – 1901; tee – Ted Baker London; shorts – Maliparmi; sandals – David Tate
Every group of friends has someone like this, don’t they?
rose quartz earrings – Mariana Llanes; floral tee – Alice + Olivia; cardigan – Eileen Fisher; wrap top – IRO; shorts – IRO; pink quartz necklace – Kai Kittima; sandals – Emme Parsons
It must be fascinating to have her in the group… I love the variety possible among a group of friends who have distinctive tastes and preferences!
swimsuit – Marysia Swim; coverup – Melissa Odabash
Her last friend is a bit nervous, so our heroine walks her through the possibilities:
Travel with friends has such potential, doesn’t it?
Have you ever done this?
love,
Janice
p.s. I can personally HIGHLY recommend Lands’ End swimwear. I have some that I’ve owned for years… And if you’re looking for accessories for navy, Talbots has MOUNTAINS of things…
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A few years ago 2 friends and I did a car trip to Cape Cod together and each of us had a 20″ case and a small tote. We did some laundry one day and otherwise we were always fine. The other 2 are sisters and travel a lot together and always with just the 20″ and a tote and I do the same. We are all around 5’2″ and none of us can manage a larger bag and guess what – we always looked great! :-)
I especially loved the navy with green combination – and I think I’ll be dropping by Talbots next week for a couple of summer additions!
Janice,
Love, love , love your examples here ! I just got back from a week with family on an island off the coast of Savannah , Georgia, and while I packed too many clothes due to fluctuations in the weather and temps, what I didn’t take was both a light and a dark second layer. I took all light, and quickly became bored with the sameness ! Each trip I learn something a bit more for the next one, though I have learned so much from your posts as well ! This post is definitely going on my “ Saved” file, as are many of your other ones !
Thanks for the post. I am packing for a 11 days travel in Portugal (Azores, Porto and Lisbon) and need to minimise the luggage. And the weather is still unclear. Your post is a perfect list to collect the luggage.
Some of the beach coverups are so nice, couldn’t they be worn as a light second layer? (after you shake out the sand!) I am planning a river cruise,and can certainly use some of these ideas!
Absolutely! Many of these are great dresses or tunics, in addition to wearing over a swim suit…
hugs,
Janice
So fun! My travel capsules are shifting towards navy, so these are some good ideas. – nancyo
What a wonderful job you’ve done of thinking like different people and choosing such a wide range of clothes for the capsules! I think we would all like to be part of a VF ladies’ trip away together with you as our guide and advisor.
xxx
I love your posts, but when are we going to get an update on how your year without shopping is going?
That green and navy is really calling me. Love it. That would be me in the group. The grey and pink is so pretty but it’s just not me. That will be my friend chic friend. Let’s invite some more people and see what they wear. Please?
One of my main considerations when packing for a trip is will everything go in the same laundry load. It can be tremendously time consuming and expensive to do laundry. So I get stuff in the mid-range, khaki and light blue, light grey and pink etc…navy and white..could make the whites a bit dingy but it would not be the end of the world..and you could always handwash some things/
If you use a product like Cheer With Color Guard you can combine whites and colors safely. I still wouldn’t do a first wash of indigo jeans with whites, but you could certainly wash things together that have been laundered before.
Have you ever tried the colour and dirt catcher sheets? I love them and use them in every load. Wouldn’t travel without them.
Love the navy, I have most of that first grouping, but am crazy about the gingham sweater. My group leaves in 10 days and we are all soooo excited. Thanks for this.
Peggy B.
Thank you! Love this palette! All of them :-) My neutrals are navy and a warm gray and I am new to this capsule “thing”. Thanks for the inspiration.
Janice, I’m friend number two and I’m nervous; can you walk me through the possibilities? ;) I know you’re trying to educate us but you always see things I don’t.
Fi x
I love how you showed three totally different takes on the same formula! I think it helps us realize how to make your tips our own :)
I wanted to share with you that I just came back for a short France trip to visit my daughter who is studying there. Thanks to years of reading your blog, I was ready to deal with getting stuck in Iceland for a day and a half, finally arrive in France, going down to Bordeaux and then on to Lourdes, then back to Bordeaux for Easter and finally a few days in Paris. While I had to check a big suitcase to take gifts and bring back some of my daughter’s winter clothes, my stuff fit in a small carry on. I was comfortable and ready for weather fluctuations. Thank you!
Oh that’s SO nice to hear – thanks for taking time to share it with us!
hugs,
Janice
This was really fun to read. I especially love the navy and green combination and it makes me wonder why I always choose black as my neutral. I once travelled with my sister to London for a week on the spur of the moment ( because the fares were incredibly low.) We each had an expandable messenger bag and a purse as our only luggage. One thing we did was switch clothes to stave off boredom. We traded cardigans – my navy for her camel in a different style- and scarves. Friends could do this. I also wore her dress one day, but that’s probably more than most friendships could tolerate.
I second your recommendation of Lands End swimsuits. I just got back from the Florida Keys, where I swam every day in one of my two Lands End suits. I highly recommend the Tugless Tank!